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Inch High, Private Eye
Inch High, Private Eye was an animated series produced by Hanna-Barbera for NBC's '73-'74 Saturday Morning line-up. It debuted on September 8, 1973 and ended on August 31, 1974, running for 13 episodes. Its place on the schedule was at 8:30am in the Fall of '73 (between Lidsville and The Addams Family) before moving to 9:30am in the Spring of '74 (between Emergency +4 and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kids). Series Overview Inch High is a miniature private investigator who works for the Finkerton Detective Agency. He often gets under the skin of his irascible boss, Mr. Finkerton. Inch is assisted by his cute and clever niece Lori, their musclebound and somewhat oafish friend Gator, and their ever-loyal St. Bernard, Braveheart. The group travels from case to case in the "Hushmobile", a futurist car that practically glides on air and is super-quiet. Inch's "inch high" size often lands him precarious situations while on the job either digging for clues or confronting suspects. Despite his less than intimidating size, Inch is a gun-ho, no nonsense PI who takes what he does very seriously. Characters/Cast Inch High (voiced by Lennie Weinrib) - "The world's biggest little detective", Inch is the titular character, a P.I. who is quite literally only around an inch high. Popular voice actor Lennie Weinrib (also the voice of H.R. Pufnstuf, the original Scrappy-Doo, The Joker, The Penguin, and Commissioner Gordon for Filmation's The New Adventures of Batman, as well as many, many others) plays Inch with a quirky confidence and tone reminiscent of Don Adams' Maxwell Smart from Get Smart. A.J. Finkerton (voiced by John Stephenson) - The head of the Finkerton Detective Agency (a send up of the famous, real-life Pinkerton Detective Agency), Mr. Finkerton is constantly irritated by Inch and his companions to the point of exacerbation. Renown voice actor John Stephenson (the voice behind The Flintstones Mr. Slate, Eustace P. Peevly, the zookeeper on Help!... It's the Hair Bear Bunch!, the Dick Dastardly-like Dread Baron of the Laff-a-Lympics team The Really Rottens, and a whole host of others) channels the great Joe Flynn, whose mannerisms and temperament fit Inch High's boss perfectly. Finkerton's wife was voiced by the ever-talented Jean Vander Pyl (famously the voice of Wilma Flintstone, The Jetsons maid Rosie the Robot, and many more). Lori (voiced by Kathy Gori) - Lori is Inch High's niece and an invaluable part his crime solving team. Ever resourceful, Lori's miniature uncle has been known to go "undercover" as part of her necklace or do some spying from inside her purse. Inch can contact Lori through her walkie talkie/makeup compact. The character of Lori seems to have been inspired by the Partridge Family''s own Laurie Partridge (played by Susan Dey), which may explain why Lori's name sometimes mistakenly appears as "Laurie" instead. Actress Kathy Gori is probably most familiar to cartoon fans as the voice of the leggy telephone operator, Rosemary of ''Hong Kong Phooey fame. Gator (voiced by Bob Lutell) - Every crime solving team needs muscle and that's Lori's friend, Gator. Gator is a good-natured, kindhearted fellow who drives the group's stealthy "Hushmobile" and is always around to lend a hand. Gator may have been loosely based on Jethro Bodine from the Beverly Hillbillies (played by Max Baer Jr.) with his country accent, brute size, hillbilly-sque demeanor.